


Starlight

by starswholisten



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Inner Circle squad goals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-25 13:25:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7534411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starswholisten/pseuds/starswholisten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“Of course I’ll dance with you,” Rhys said, his voice still raw. “All night if you wish.”</i>
  <br/>
  <i>“Even if I step on your toes?”</i>
  <br/>
  <i>“Even then.”</i>
</p><p>The untold events of Starfall, post-chapter 44 of A Court of Mist and Fury.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Starlight

I practically sprinted back to the patio, dragging a laughing Rhys behind me, never letting go of his hand. Our faces and arms were still covered with splattered star-spirit, and flecks of it fell onto the floor in glittering clouds as we ran. When I came to an abrupt halt in the entranceway, Rhys nearly collided into me. But I wanted to take in the beauty of the scene in the House of Wind, the people in their finest dress dancing elegantly to an upbeat melody as the star-spirits brightened the room around them. Rhys, still holding my hand, walked around to face me, blocking my view. I looked up at him and the glimmer in his eyes nearly knocked me over.  
“Shall we?” He gestured with his free hand to the crowd below.  
“I was just… taking in the view for a moment,” I said, my eyes lingering back to the dancing people, a smile forming once again on my face.  
Rhys let go of my hand and suddenly both of his captured my face, gently positioning my head so that I was looking at him once more. He pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear, and my whole body chilled.  
“You’re the view,” he whispered, and before I could think, his hand was again in mine and this time, he was the one dragging me behind him as he eagerly led me to the dance floor.  
We joined the host of people on the patio and I immediately spotted Mor, spinning out of the crowd looking winded and breathless. I waved to get her attention, and she brightened, looking briefly behind her to signal Cassian and Azriel to follow. The three of them joined Rhys and I, and Mor laughed heartily as she took in our faces. “Looks like you two got a little too close to the stars,” she mused, hitting Rhys lightly on the shoulder. Rhys put his arm around his cousin, smearing a bit of the glowing substance on her exposed neck, and laughed with her in a very un-High Lord-like manner. “I took Feyre darling up to the balcony to get a better view.”  
“Well now that you two are sorted out,” Cassian added, glancing at my and Rhys’ still-joined hands and raising an eyebrow, “the night is young. First round’s on me.”  
“We’re at my party, Cassian. The drinks are free,” Rhys said.  
“Exactly. Wine, anyone?” Cassian took off for the bar without waiting for a response, Azriel in tow.  
Mor twisted out of Rhys’ embrace and spun to my side, her white gown flowing out around her. “Let’s see how well you can dance, Feyre.”  
She pulled me away from Rhys, and as I looked over my shoulder at his receding figure, I felt a glimmer of happiness run down the bond. He smirked as he crossed his arms, watching Mor and I as we spun in time with the music. Mor’s elegant grace in her dancing made me nervous, but she sensed my unease and took the lead, showing me the steps to a traditional Night Court dance. By the end of the song, I was panting and breathless, and practically inhaled the glass of sparkling wine Azriel handed to me. Loosened up and feeling reckless, I spun over to where Rhys and Cassian stood, laughing together, as Mor lead Azriel into the crowd. I took both males by the hands that weren’t holding drinks and they both looked at me, Cassian’s expression wicked and Rhys’ gaze filled with longing and desire.  
“Dance with me!” I shouted over the music, and they barely had a moment to place their glasses on a side table before I whisked them away into the crowd.

Cauldron knows how long the five of us danced together to the most beautiful music I’d ever heard. Azriel and Cassian took turns twirling Mor, and she laughed, her arms high above her, every time her gown glimmered around her. Azriel and Rhys laughed as Cassian occasionally snuck up behind me to dip me low, eliciting a frightened shriek from me each time. If Cassian got too handsy, Rhys would tense, and Cassian would tease him mercilessly until I smacked him playfully in the back of the head. Enchanted trays floated along the edge of the dance floor, and Rhys and Mor clinked glasses with every shot of liquor they consumed. When the music picked up, Mor and I weaved in and out of the circle of males, keeping them on their toes, even when we had both had too much to drink to be able to maneuver around them. And Rhys, freer than I’d ever seen him, danced like he’d never suffered a day in his life, laughing as he lifted me up by the hips and spun around and around with me in his arms.  
The stars fell along the sky all the while, frequently distracting me with their magnificence. I caught Rhys watching me once, an unreadable look in his violet eyes. I took his hands in mine, keeping his gaze, and danced ridiculously as I purposely treaded on his feet. He chuckled as he winced, and I reminded him with a smirk, “you said you’d keep dancing with me, even if I stepped on your toes.”  
“And I will keep that promise, but not without some revenge,” he growled, his foot positioned just above mine. I yelped out, feigning offense. “You’d step on these lovely shoes? Shame, Rhys. And here I am, believing Amren’s claim that you have good taste.” I twirled just out of his reach into the circle of our friends, and kept looking him in the eye as Cassian dipped me again.

When the stars ceased their show and the first light of dawn began to peek above the mountains, the music slowed. I looked around to find that some of the guests had cleared out, though the party was certainly still going. Mor seemed to notice the lull in music and yawned. Her hair had fallen out of her combs and flowed messily down her shoulders, and she looked positively exhausted. She looked at Azriel, then Cassian, and then at Rhys and I. “Well, Starfall is never that much fun,” she declared as a farewell, and slipped off the dancefloor and headed toward the dining room. Cassian began to engage Azriel in a conversation about some Illyrian sporting event, but I wasn’t sure Azriel was fully paying attention as his gaze lingered on Mor’s retreating back. I smiled lightly at my friends and turned my head to find Rhys standing beside me, his hand outstretched to me.  
“May I have this dance, Feyre darling?” he asked, the smile on his face warming my heart and possibly other places.  
“Yes, you may.” I took his hand and he led me deeper onto the dance floor. After a few steps, his arms slowly grasped my waist and hugged me tightly to him, and my arms wrapped around his neck as I nuzzled my head into his tattooed chest. I knew, somehow, that keeping his gaze as we danced so intimately would rip to shreds any self-control I had around him. I could feel the rapid beating of his heart against my cheek as we began to sway gently to the music. My heart was beating just as fast, if not faster.  
After a little while, Rhys dipped his head to fill the space between my neck and my shoulder, his breath hot below my ear. I closed my eyes and let the music take over as our bodies melted together.  
We fit so perfectly that it almost broke me when the last song ended and the music faded.  
I opened my eyes to find that we had stopped swaying, maybe long ago, and that we were the only two left on the dance floor. The sun had risen, the sky swirling above in magnificent hues of pink and purple. Cassian and Azriel were long gone, and Mor was sleeping on a settee in the dining room not far away.  
The night was over. And I didn’t want to let go of it, or the Illyrian High Lord in my arms.  
I didn’t have to. I moved my head to look up at him and our eyes locked, both portraying how reluctant we were to leave. Rhys seemed to first notice the sun then, as if he’d been only looking at me the entire time we had been dancing, and chuckled lightly. “I told you I’d dance with you all night,” he said, his hand moving in slow circles over the small of my back, “but I could probably go all morning, too, if the music was so inclined.”  
I gave him a small, tired smile, and he moved his hands to grab my legs and lift me into his arms.  
“Tired? Don’t you worry, Feyre darling, I have every intention of delivering you right to your room.”  
Too drained to think up a teasing reply, I buried my head back into his chest and closed my eyes as he walked us to the balcony. He spread his wings wide and took off into the dawn, holding me tightly as if I were the most precious cargo in the world.  
We were silent as he flew us to his town house and carried me, as promised, right to my bedroom door.  
Wordlessly, he set me down, and I looked into those violet eyes as he took my face in his hands and kissed my brow. My heart swelled and my skin burned where his lips had been and where his hands had touched my chin, and I wanted them to explore further. I wanted his lips on my eyelids, on my cheeks, on my nose, on my own lips. I wanted his hands on my neck, my sides, my hips, and lower still. I knew my eyes would be portraying exactly that, if they weren’t so glassed over with exhaustion.  
Rhys held my gaze for another few moments, and I almost hoped he’d read my mind… but he turned away and walked to his own room, not looking back. I didn’t go into my own until he reached his door.  
Bleary-eyed and aching, I shed my gown and removed my hair combs, putting on the first set of nightclothes I could find and crawling into my bed. And, tired as I was, I couldn’t sleep.  
I hoped he’d come back.  
I wanted him to come back.  
I wanted him.  
And if I hadn’t been up all night long, I’d never have fallen asleep when Rhys was two doors down the hall, not knowing how much I was reeling from desire for him after such as magical night.

**Author's Note:**

> ***ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO SARAH J. MAAS***


End file.
